The use of thebaine and oripavine as starting materials for the commercial production of semisynthetic opiate-derived agents has been reported.1,2,3,4,5 For example, methods for the preparation of morphine derivatives from thebaine are known. U.S. Pat. No. 7,928,234 discloses methods for the conversion of thebaine to morphine derivatives via ketal intermediates.
These compounds can be medicinally useful because of their high therapeutic value and low abuse potential.6,7,8 Engineered poppy plants9,10 have been cultivated to express thebaine in high quantities in recent years for use as a starting material for the downstream production of semisynthetic opiates. A scalable method for the transformation of thebaine to oripavine, may be useful to shorten and/or generalize industrial preparations of semi-synthetic opioid derivatives.
Known conditions for 3-O-demethylation of buprenorphine derivatives having an origin in thebaine are harsh, involving long reaction times and strongly alkaline systems at high temperatures, 100-200° C.2 
The conversion of thebaine to oripavine using known methods of O-demethylation have failed. For example, in contrast to other opiate derivatives, the desired O-demethylated product was not recovered from the reaction of thebaine with thiolate.11 To date, 3-O-demethylation of thebaine to produce oripavine has only been accomplished by L-Selectride, albeit in low yield (35%) and long reaction times (14 days).12,13,14 Though this represents a direct method, alternatives to the use of L-Selectride are still being sought.